New Delhi: A moderate rise in temperatures today did not translate into any great relief from the cold in northern India where fresh snowfall led to the closure of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway and prompted authorities to issue an avalanche warning in Himachal Pradesh.
Delhi saw the minimum temperature registering a dip from the 6.1 degrees Celsius recorded yesterday to settle at 4.4 degrees, which was three degrees below normal.
The maximum in the national capital was normal for this time of the year at 20.7 degrees.
Higher up, about three inches of snow had accumulated around Jawahar Tunnel - the gateway to Kashmir Valley - as snowfall led to the suspension of traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, the only all-weather road link between Kashmir and the rest of the country.
“The highway was closed to traffic at around 2 P.M. after heavy snowfall between Qazigund and Banihal rendered the arterial road unsafe,” a traffic spokesman told PTI, adding that dozens of Jammu-bound passenger and heavy vehicles had been left stranded as a result.
The weatherman has predicted moderate to heavy snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir due to a fresh western disturbance between January 8 and January 10.
